In addition to its antimicrobial activity,
macrolides have an immunomodulatory effect that may be beneficial to
patients with
asthma. This
quasi-experimental study aimed to determine the effect of intravenous
clarithromycin followed by
oral administration in 37
patients with acute exacerbations
asthma caused by
respiratory tract infection during January - December 2005.
Patients with mild to moderate exacerbations of
asthma with
respiratory tract infection meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were given intravenous
clarithromycin 2 x 500 mg/day for not more than 5 days and followed by oral
clarithromycin 2 x 500 mg/day for 7 days. Outcome variables were improvement of clinical symptoms according to the
asthma exacerbation score and
peak expiratory flow rate (
PEFR). After 10 days,
treatment resulted significant improvement in total
asthma exacerbation score and morning
PEFR in 35
patients enrolled this project. Based on clinical improvement and
laboratory findings, the number of days required for intravenous
clarithromycin was less then 3 days for 21 subjects, 3-5 days in 14 subjects. The most common causative pathogens were S. β-haemolyticus and
Streptococcus sp. It was concluded that
clarithromycin improved clinical symptoms and
PEFR in exacerbation of
asthma caused by
respiratory tract infection.